[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5880-5881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2620]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-315 and 50-316]
Indiana Michigan Power Company, Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant;
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Conduct Scoping Process
Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M) has submitted an application
for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses, DPR-58 and DPR-74 for an
additional 20 years of operation at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant
(Cook), Units 1 and 2 (CNP). CNP is located in Berrien County,
Michigan, about 55 miles east of Chicago, Illinois. The operating
licenses for Cook Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, expire on October 25,
2014, and December 23, 2017, respectively. The application for renewal
was received on November 3, 2003, pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. A notice
of receipt and availability of the application, which included the
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on
November 10, 2003 (68 FR 63824). A notice of acceptance for docketing
of the application for renewal of the facility operating license was
published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2003 (68 FR 68956).
The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be preparing an environmental
impact statement (EIS) in support of the review of the license renewal
application and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in
the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In
addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National
Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, I&M submitted
the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10
CFR part 51 and is available for public inspection at the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the Publicly
Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's
Electronic Reading Room link. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS,
or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS,
should contact the NRC's PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-
415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The application may also be
viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/cook.html. In addition, the Bridgman
Public Library, 4460 Lake Street, Bridgman, Michigan and the Maud
Preston Palenske Memorial Library, 500 Market Street, St. Joseph,
Michigan have agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the
Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) in support of the
review of the application for renewal of the CNP operating licenses for
an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed action
(license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy
sources. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a supplement to
the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This
notice is being published in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found in 10 CFR
part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to
the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping
process by members of the public and local, State, tribal, and Federal
government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the
supplement to the GEIS.
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify
the significant issues to be analyzed in depth.
c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are
peripheral or that are not significant.
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other EISs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of the
scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered.
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action.
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule.
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and
include any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, Indiana Michigan Power Company.
b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved, or that is
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
d. Any affected Indian tribe.
e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to
participate in the scoping process.
f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave
to intervene.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may
include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues
related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to
be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold public meetings for
the CNP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings
will be held at the Lake Charter Township Hall, 3220 Shawnee Road,
Bridgman, Michigan, on Monday, March 8, 2004. There will be two
sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first session will
convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary.
The second session will convene at 7 p.m. with a repeat of the overview
portions of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary.
Both meetings will be transcribed and will include (1) an overview by
the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed
scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review schedule;
and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies,
[[Page 5881]]
organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the
environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the
GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one
hour before the start of each session at the Lake Charter Township
Hall. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the
GEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be
considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public
meetings or in writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to
attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the
NEPA review by contacting Mr. Robert Schaaf, by telephone at 1-800-368-
5642, extension 1312, or by Internet to the NRC at [email protected] no
later than March 3, 2004. Members of the public may also register to
speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session.
Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available,
depending on the number of persons who register. Members of the public
who have not registered may also have an opportunity to speak, if time
permits. Public comments will be considered in the scoping process for
the supplement to the GEIS. Mr. Schaaf will need to be contacted no
later than March 1, 2004, if special equipment or accommodations are
needed to attend or present information at the public meeting, so that
the NRC staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated.
Members of the public may send written comments on the
environmental scope of the CNP license renewal review to the Chief,
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services,
Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication
date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also
be delivered to the NRC, Room T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during
Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written
comments should be postmarked by April 6, 2004. Electronic comments may
be sent by the Internet to the NRC at [email protected] and should be
sent no later than April 6, 2004, to be considered in the scoping
process. Comments will be available electronically and accessible
through ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a
hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of the
aforementioned Federal Register notice (68 FR 62640). Matters related
to participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be
discussed at this public meeting.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached, including
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be
available for inspection in ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft
supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of separate notices
and separate public meetings. Copies will be available for public
inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per request
will be provided free of charge. After receipt and consideration of the
comments, the NRC will prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which
will also be available for public inspection.
Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS,
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Schaaf at the
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of January, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program,
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-2620 Filed 2-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P